Birchbox vs. Glossybox │ SUMMER BOXES

Hellooo, everybody! I know, I know, it’s practically December, Christmas is on the horizon, it’s freezing cold, so why am I banging on about summer?! WELL, I was completely rubbish and let myself get all wrapped up in the busyness of life and the months have just whizzed on by. So, I thought it might be rather pointless to do a full month by month comparison of every Birchbox and Glossybox that I received since my last Vs. post, but here’s a little recap for you lovely lot. I’ll try my best not to ramble…

JULY BIRCHBOX

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So what was inside?

Benefit Cosmetics Cha-cha Tint Lip & Cheek Stain │ RRP £25.50

This was a tiny sample from Benefit, who are not cruelty-free (hence no link to their site), so I only tested it on my hand for the purpose of this post. Stain by name, stain by nature! It needs some mega blending to do its job and to ensure it doesn’t leave smear marks on your skin. 2/10

Balance Me Flash Cleanse Micellar Water │ RRP £16

99% natural and gentle, this is an effective little cleanser from a company that doesn’t test on animals – WINNER. This was perfect for weekend getaways and the sample size lasted quite a while, too. 8/10

Percy & Reed Perfecting Wonder Overnight Recovery │ RRP £20

I’m not going to lie to you, I haven’t used this product. It’s an overnight leave-in conditioner that you wash out the following morning. I shower at night and I’m a complete zombie in a morning; I don’t have time to waste precious snooze-minutes rinsing some conditioner out of my hair. Maybe I’ll give it a go over the Christmas holidays, we shall see. Also, their cruelty-free status is impossible to find. ?/10

Anatomicals Softening Eucalyptus Foot Cream │ RRP £5.99

I bloody LOVED this stuff! It leaves your feet feeling fresh and smooth and smelling gorgeously minty. It’s cruelty-free, cooling and the perfect remedy for a long, hard day at work. 8/10

Origins RitualiTea Feeling Rosy Face Mask │ RRP £32

Sadly, this company are not cruelty-free as they test their products on animals “when required by law”; sob. This face mask was designed to combine the relaxing effects of a cup of tea with the magic of a face mask, which sounds top notch, but I haven’t given it a go so I can’t offer a fair score on the quality of the product.

English Laundry Oxford Bleu Femme Eau de Parfum │ RRP £55

This was a bonus product from Birchbox and whilst it was only tiny, it was heavenly. It’s a dazzlingly clean and fresh fragrance that manages to last on your skin all day. It was such a beautiful scent for summertime. I haven’t been able to find any solid information on their cruelty-free status, but it could be because they’re relatively new on the scene. I wouldn’t buy it unless they clarified this. 7/10

JULY GLOSSYBOX

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So what did the folks from Glossybox have to offer us in July?

Bellapierre Cosmetics Banana Setting Powder │ RRP £25 (full size)

This is a lightweight finishing powder in a universal colour-correcting yellow hue. It sets makeup beautifully and has a subtle aroma of banana sweets, which is rather enjoyable. It’s not my favourite setting powder of all time, but it is still gorgeous and pretty effective. Plus, it’s cruelty-free! 7/10

Cute Balms Macaroon Tint Balm in Crushed Berry │ RRP £3.99 (full size)

This macaroon shaped lipbalm is perfect for your handbag, as it’s a lovely little size. It’s paraben-free and moisturising, but is quite dark in colour so it left my lips looking a bit angry! Cute Balms are a relatively new company so I’ve struggled to find any information about their animal testing policy. 5/10

Papanga Spiral Hairbands │ RRP £1.79 each (full size)

These hairbands have been designed to reduce hair breakage whilst still remaining strong and useful. Personally, I wasn’t the biggest fan. They don’t sit well in my fine, pathetic hair and I didn’t enjoy the boring colours I received. I imagine the bands would be better suited for people with thicker hair. They did come in handy in the pool on holiday, though! 6/10

MONUspa Soothing After Sun Lotion │ RRP £19.95

I LOVED this stuff with a fiery passion. My ghost-girl skin was in major need of TLC whilst on holiday and this soothing, divinely scented lotion was an absolute saviour. It helped prolong my attempt at a tan and I basically wanted to eat myself, it smells so wonderful. 10/10

Spectrum Collections Feeling Fancy (A10) Small Fan Brush │ RRP £4.99 (full size)

As I’m sure you all know by now, I’m obsessed with Spectrum Collections and their dazzling array of 100% vegan and cruelty-free brushes. This little fan brush is a welcome addition to my collection and it’s perfect for adding a touch of highlighter to cheekbones, the bridge of the nose and collarbones. I LOVE it. 10/10

July’s winner? It has to be Glossybox; there was a wider range of gorgeous products that were not only effective, but incredibly useful. They also had more cruelty-free products, which is always going to be a big factor for me.

AUGUST BIRCHBOX

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The mermaid vibes from Birchbox’s August offering spoke to my soul…

Spectrum Collections A05 Brush in Glam Clam │ RRP from £59.99 (for the full size set)

This brush is beautiful and versatile; you can use it for blushes and bronzers, or for a pop of highlighter. It’s not quite full size, as advertised by Birchbox, as the handle is a little shorter. I already have the Glam Clam, so wish I’d gotten the Bomb Shell colour brush instead, but it’s always great to have an extra brush for your makeup bag! 8/10

LOC One and Done Shadow Stick  RRP £8 (full size)

Created by Birchbox in-house, this little stick of colour can be applied all over the lids for a soft look, or as a bold liner. It’s long lasting, bright and poppy, and it’s cruelty-free. LOC products are also really affordable, which is an added bonus! 8/10

Number 4 Sugar Texturizing Sugar Spray │ RRP £20

This brand is cool af. All of their products are 100% vegan, cruelty-free, sulphate free and paraben free. This particular spray smells like a summer DREAM and it works. It left my limp, flyaway hair looking volumized and full of oomph. I felt like a mermaid and quite frankly, when has that ever been a bad thing? 9/10

Living Sea Therapy Sea Salt Scrub  RRP £26

Formulated with over 60 minerals and essential oils, this scrub works hard to remove dead skin cells and smooth your skin, all whilst remaining kind to the sea and environment. I love how rough the sea salt crystals are as you can really feel them buffing your skin to silky perfection. Plus, it leaves you smelling like you’ve just walked out of a heavenly lagoon. 9/10

Yes To Grapefruit 2-Step Face Kit │ RRP £4.99

This is a 2-step formula designed to cleanse pores and smooth your skin. It smells beautifully fresh and fruity and leaves your skin feeling tingly and clean; it’s the perfect way to have a little pamper and it’s brilliant night-out prep. Yes To are Leaping Bunny certified, too! 8/10

AUGUST GLOSSYBOX

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Another round of summer lovin’ products from the folks at Glossybox…

SportFX Time Out Face Mist & Fix │ RRP £5.99

I love this cool, forward thinking brand designed for women on the go. This minty fresh face mist helps set makeup and also refresh your look throughout the day. It’s instantly cooling, 100% vegan and cruelty-free. 8/10

Model Launcher Safari Sun Bronzer │ RRP £16.50

This is a multi-tonal bronzer that adds a subtle flush of colour to your skin. The design is cool, but I can’t find any concrete information about their animal testing policy which has stopped me using the product any further. 5/10

Valquer Total Repair Ice Hair Mask │ RRP £14.99

I’ve never tried anything like this hair mask before; it leaves your hair feeling genuinely cool and the sensation was absolutely incredible when I was sweating like crazy on holiday this summer. It smells minty fresh and leaves your hair feeling smooth and silky. The cooling effect was rather intense so I wouldn’t use it in the winter! 7/10

Batiste 2in1 Dry Shampoo & Conditioner │ RRP £4.49

I was a little disappointed to receive two hair care products in one box, especially when I saw this little beast. I got this a few month’s ago in a Birchbox and made the ghastly mistake of spraying it all over my hair, only to be left with lank locks that looked as though they hadn’t been washed since 1995. It might work wonders on thicker hair, but for me, it’s the worst haircare product I’ve ever come across. 0/10

Rodial Suede Lips │ RRP £22 (full size)

This is a moisturising, matte lip crayon in a beautiful “my lips, but better” shade. It glides on perfectly and leaves your lips looking perfectly pouty. I do, however, think it’s very expensive for what it is – NYX do some very similar lip crayons for a fraction of the price! It was lovely to get it in this Glossybox to try, though. 7/10

August’s winner? 100% Birchbox. The August box, in my opinion, was easily the best that I’ve ever received from Birchbox and I LOVED that every product was cruelty-free. The mermaid vibes were incredible and each product was functional, useful and bloody gorgeous. I was so, so happy with this edition.

OHMYSTARS, I am so sorry for the length of this post. That’ll teach me to be more organised in the future! If you’ve made it to the end, give yourself a pat on the back and buy yourself a treat, you’ve earned it. Thanks for reading, chums! There will be an Autumn edition coming soon and I’ll try and be more succinct. Are you subscribed to any beauty boxes? Let me know in the comments!

Much love,

Jess XO

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All photos are my own unless otherwise specified. 

7 Comments

  1. November 28, 2017 / 10:50 pm

    Well done for another AMAZING blog post!✨ I’m absolutely in love with the Yes To range, especially their yes to tomatoes stuff! (The moisturiser is the best!) keep up the good work chick and I look forward to another read!! ?

    • November 28, 2017 / 11:16 pm

      Thank you, you fabulous human! I love their cucumber products too ?? much love xo

  2. November 29, 2017 / 12:13 am

    I swear UK birchbox has way better products than American birchbox. So jealous.

    • December 2, 2017 / 10:37 am

      Really?! What kind of things do you get in America?

  3. Makeup by Erin
    November 29, 2017 / 7:51 am

    The Spectrum brushes look so lovely! I need to try them out! ?

      • Makeup by Erin
        December 2, 2017 / 6:09 pm

        I’ll have to check them out! ?

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